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As you can see, the TK35 is one of the most compact offerings in this side-by-side 2x18650 class of lights.

The body plan of the TK35 is very streamlined, and quite comfortable to hold and handle.

Black anodizing (type III = HA) is matte finish, without blemishes on my sample. Lettering is clear and sharp, but not overly bright.

The light lacks knurling as such, but there are a series of tiny ridges along both sides of the battery handle (similar to the concentric ring ridges on the TK45). While this helps somewhat with grip, I still find the TK35 slipperier than other lights in this class.

Screw threads are square-cut and anodized, to allow for head lock-out.

Although it looks like it should, the light cannot easily tailstand, as the on/off switch bulges slightly on my sample (even when on).

The most unique aspect to the light is the battery compartment. Made entirely of plastic, it slides fully into the aluminum handle. Unlike the TK45, the springs used for positive and negative contact are on found on the head and not the carrier. The carrier chambers hold all my protected 18650 cells snugly, even the newer high capacity ones. There is a raised button at the positive terminal in each chamber, so flat-top cells work fine.

Probably the most distinctive thing about the barrier carrier is that it contains two different types of switches – a forward clicky for on/off activation, and a secondary electronic switch for mode changing, as described below.

The switch control mechanism is interesting. At the base of the body handle, you will see two buttons. The smaller of these is basically just a small plastic rod with a rubber top that serves as the mode changing button. When assembled, it makes contact with the actual electronic switch on the battery tube. There is a definite click when changing modes, but the feel is quite different from a traditional clicky.

The larger button is connected to a more traditional on/off clicky switch. Feel is a little stiffer than typical, but is otherwise familiar.

There is a definite rattle to light, even when fully assembled (likely due to the mode changing plastic rod). And you have to pay attention to how you insert the battery carrier – it only fits one way, due to the differing switch types.

The TK35 uses the Cree XM-L emitter, with a relatively deep and smooth reflector. There seems to be some very mild texturing applied to the surface, which slightly dulls the finish (likely to helps smooth the beam).

Which brings me to the white-wall beamshots. All lights are on 2xAW protected 18650, about ~0.75 meter from a white wall (with the camera ~1.25 meters back from the wall). Automatic white balance on the camera, to minimize tint differences.

First off, this sample has one of the most greenish tints I’ve ever seen. The pics above are all done with automatic white balance and are slightly desaturated, to minimize tint differences. In real life, it is more green than it appears above.

Beam pattern is actually very good – the light has a reasonable amount of throw, and a nice transition from spot to spill. UPDATE June 6, 2011: I have just posted a new 100-yard round-up beamshot review for 2011, showcasing all my current "thrower" lights. Below is an animated GIF showing some relevant comparisons for the TK35. Please see that round-up review for additional pics of other lights, taken under the same conditions.

Mode changing is controlled by the smaller secondary electronic switch. Click and release to advance through output modes, which proceed in sequence from Lo > Med > Hi > Turbo, in repeating sequence. The light has mode memory, and retains the last level set when you turn the light off and back on.

Note that you cannot set the output level while the light is off. The electronic switch only works when the light is powered on by the clicky switch first. As such, there is no standby current on the TK35.

The “hidden” strobe and SOS modes are accessed by clicking and holding the electronic switch for more than 1 sec. The light will now move between a slow SOS and a fast high intensity strobe when you click and release the electronic switch. To return to the constant out modes, hold the electronic switch for more than 1 sec again, or simply turn off/on the light.

The blinking modes also have a memory, and the light will return the last mode used when you re-enter this state – but the light always turns on in the memorize constant output mode. Thus, there is no danger of accidentally strobing yourself (but conversely, you cannot access strobe without first turning on the light in a constant mode).

The light has an interesting safety feature – after exactly 25 mins of continuous runtime on Turbo, it drops down to the Hi level for the rest of the time it is left on. Turning off/on restores the Turbo mode (at least for the next 25 mins ).

PWM/Strobe

There is no sign of pulse width modulation (PWM) on the Lo/Med/Hi modes that I can detect, leading me to conclude this light is current-controlled like almost all other Fenix offerings.

Strobe is an oscillating strobe, switching between 6.7 Hz and 15.9 Hz at ~1.8 sec intervals on my sample.

Testing Method:

All my output numbers are relative for my home-made light box setup, a la Quickbeam's flashlightreviews.com method. You can directly compare all my relative output values from different reviews - i.e. an output value of "10" in one graph is the same as "10" in another. All runtimes are done under a cooling fan, except for any extended run Lo/Min modes (i.e. >12 hours) which are done without cooling.

Effective November 2010, I have revised my summary tables to match with the current ANSI FL-1 standard for flashlight testing. Please see http://www.sliderule.ca/FL1.htm for a description of the terms used in these tables.

Output on max is very comparable to my other recent XM-L based lights, like the Eagletac M3C4, Thrunite Catapult V3 and Lumintop TD15-X. As expected, peak throw/beam distance is less than the larger M3C4 and Catapult V3 lights (with their larger and deeper reflectors), but is greater than the smaller TD15-X. Throw is basically in the traditional range of most of the larger SST-50-based lights.

Lo output is reasonable for this class – not as low as some earlier Fenix lights, but in keeping with most of the recent XM-L lights.

Output/Runtime Comparison:

I have only done 2x18650 runtimes, but the light can also handle 4xCR123A. As you can see, output/runtime efficiency is certainly in keeping with other current-controlled lights with XM-L emitters – and perhaps even a touch better on my TK35 sample.

You will also note the interesting runtime pattern on Turbo. After exactly 25 mins, the light drops to Hi for the rest of the run (i.e. the first TK35 trace on my Max 18650 graph). This is not a thermal sensor, but a timed drop-down feature. To allow you to better compare to other lights that remain constant, I flashed the TK35 off-on every 20 mins in the second run, so you can see what happens if you keep it going (i.e. labelled as "*restarts*" in the first graph legend).

Potential Issues

As always, I have some concerns over long-term stability with any all-plastic battery carrier. Although the TK35 carrier seems better than their previous offerings in the high-output class, the dual switch control area feels relatively cheap. In particular, the simple plastic plunger that connects to electronic switch does not inspire a lot of confidence (it also rattles at all times).

The heavily green tint on my sample suggests that Fenix is using non-premium cool white tints for this line. This would be in keeping with the lower than typical price.

Light lacks any real knurling, and can be more slippery than most in this class.

Holster and wrist lanyard are fairly basic, but at least they are both provided (which is more than some manufacturers).

Preliminary Observations

In many ways, the TK35 is something of a Goldilocks model. Build-wise, you could argue that most of the other high-output lights are either too long, too thick, too heavy, or too light. The TK35 feels just about right in the hand – nice and compact, and well-balanced.

Same goes for the beam pattern. No, it is not a huge thrower for the XM-L class – but it throws as well as the much larger SST-50-based lights, and better than all the earlier MC-E ones. No, it doesn’t have a huge spillbeam width, like lights with massively wide heads. Instead, it has a very well balanced beam profile that suits most general uses.

I think the dual control interface is generally well implemented. You can easily use the light in over-hand tactical grip without having to re-position (i.e. buttons are easy to differentiate). I would have liked to have been able to set the output level before activation, but that would have required a major redesign (and likely necessitated a standby current drain in this dual switch setup).

Of course, one area where you can always expect Fenix to excel is in overall output/runtime efficiency. No surprises here – the TK35 does as well (and perhaps slightly better) in overall efficiency as any other current-controlled light in the XM-L class. The 25 min drop-down feature on Turbo is interesting (and likely a good safety feature), but you can always circumvent it if you need to by turning off/on again. And max output is consistent with all the recent XM-L lights I’ve tested.

Another distinctive feature of the TK35 is the price. I don’t normally comment on this in my reviews, but it is remarkably low considering everything you are getting here (i.e. ergonomics, performance, and the reassurance of an established brand name).

So, with all that going for it, sounds like slam-dunk right? Well, not necessarily. That low cost brings a few less desirable aspects with it. As mentioned above, I don’t like all-plastic battery carriers (although this one is better than most). But I do find the switching control area has a rather cheap feel, and I worry about its long-term stability.

The other cost issue is tint. There are never any guarantees here – but some makers do pay extra to insure specific “premium” cool white tint bins are used. In my experience, Fenix doesn’t typically do this (although to be fair, they are also a much higher volume manufacturer, and therefore have to go with what’s available). I bring this up only because my TK35 sample has the most greenish tint that I’ve ever seen in all my flashlight testing. What this suggests to me is that you can therefore expect a very wide range of possible tints on the TK35 – caveat emptor.

And although I like the body design (and the nice touches like anodized square threads, etc.), I would also like to see some actual knurling on the light to improve grip. Probably one of the best builds I’ve seen in this size light is the Sunwayman M40C – an even more compact side-by-side 2x18650 design, dual interface with magnetic control ring, all-metal carrier, etc. But it uses the older MC-E emitter and as is still ~50% more expensive.

At the end of the day, I think the TK35 is a fantastic bargain with a good overall design, good mix of features and outstanding performance. The build is still not quite everything it could be, but it is certainly still quite acceptable - you just need to have realistic expectations for the price. And honestly, I don’t see how you could do much better at this price point for a high-output light, at the current time.

UPDATE MAY 13, 2011: I have just reviewed the JetBeam BC40 - an even less expensive 2x18650-class XM-L light. It has a simpler two-stage output UI, but is something else to consider in the "budget" high-output class.

Looks like a good light. I do like the parallel battery configuration - makes for a more compact light.

You have probably covered this elsewhere but why leave the camera on auto WB for your white wall shots? You used to use 5600k - I think?

I guess so the tint doesn't get in the way - you are looking for beam pattern, hot spot, spill, rings, artefacts etc which is more useful. Tint varies for each LED to a certain degree and 'tint' is subjective. (kind of answered my own question!! LOL). Would there be any benefit to de-saturate (B&W) each shot? I'm sure you have considered all options, I'm just curious!
Thanks!

I was shocked to read that it has the most green tint you have ever seen on any light. I'm certain you have seen more lights than just about anybody so that statement says a lot to me.

In the "old days" when XR-E first went to R2 output bin (mid-late 2008, IIRC), most of the lights were quite green (i.e. a poor WH tint, for XR-Es). I know a similar complaint has been leveled against the XP-G S2 bins, but I haven't seen enough to comment. And again, I've heard that complaint for the XM-L T6. But my TK35 sample has a slightly more pronounced green than any of my early XR-E R2s. That makes it the worse I've seen (although to be fair, it's not that much worse).

Part of what magnifies the problem is the tint shift that occurs on current-controlled lights (i.e. lower levels are particularly noticeable). But even on max, it's very noticeable on my TK35. I therefore felt it was important to comment, since it suggests greater variability in tint is to be expected on this model.

Originally Posted by Bass

You have probably covered this elsewhere but why leave the camera on auto WB for your white wall shots? You used to use 5600k - I think? .. I guess so the tint doesn't get in the way - you are looking for beam pattern, hot spot, spill, rings, artefacts etc which is more useful. Tint varies for each LED to a certain degree and 'tint' is subjective. (kind of answered my own question!! LOL). Would there be any benefit to de-saturate (B&W) each shot? I'm sure you have considered all options, I'm just curious!

Actually, I used to use automatic white balance for a lot of the group light photos, so that the relative tint differences between them weren't unfairly magnified. When I switched to doing individual beamshots, I found this was the best way to keep things focused on beam characteristics, as you point out. If I set it to "sunlight" WB, a lot of the tints just looked horrible.

I slightly desaturate the photos as part of the conversion to post them online (I use an extremely mild one). This is mainly because they go through a at least one extra JPEG compression step, and I don't want artifacts introduced. But it's also so that people don't get too distracted by slight patterns in the beam. In the past, I would sometimes see my pics being reproduced in other posts showing how certain lights had specific tints.

Ohh... have I waited for this.....thank you Selfbuilt once again, for an incredibly detailed and informative review

however....In my impatience for your review, I went and bought one 2 weeks ago!

Bang on review overall...Love this baby, great 'balance' of beam as you mentioned; which is what I was looking for. Now I have the facts from your review to back it up!

I got lucky, as my local distributor just received a dozen or so lights, and brought the best '3' for me to choose from. (one was REALLY green! and off center beam). he mentioned the 'Tint Lottery' here, which is a shame for Fenix [I may 'slightly' notice it only on the lowest level. ]

So as I sat in Starbucks doing 'Floor tile' -> wall shots and corrugated metal 'ceiling bounce' tests.... I came to the conclusion-> what the hell is wrong with me? ( I think the other patrons were concerned with my sanity?)

End of the day, I had what I would consider to be a 'Neutral' output XM-L (NOT green) as confirmed by my nightly dog walks 'side-by-side' with my COOL SC51, KD XM-L (C8) and JB M1X.....FAR better colour rendition and contrast vs 'any of the other lights.'

Great profile and build quality IMO.... for my needs.

Want a massive thrower; go elseware....Want a slightly larger EDC that is BRIGHT, with decent throw, spill & runtimes.... you have it Time will tell if it is worthy of the 'TK' designation.

This is why I love CPF.... the selfless effort that you (Selfbuilt) and others go through to bring all this info to others and myself here, so I can buy more lights....in a more informed manner truly amazes me; dam you!

Thank you for your excellent review of this fine light. I seem to have been lucky in the "LED Lottery" with my TK35. The beam is a beautiful pure white, perhaps slightly on the warm side. As a general purpose beam I wouldn't have minded a little more width at the cost of less throw, possibly resulting in a shorter light (as long as heat-sinking could remain adequate). Your forthcoming outdoor beam shots will be very helpful. IMO the best general purpose XML beam is achieved by the lumintop TD-15X; of course that is a personal choice.

If I had to carry one relatively compact and lightweight general purpose XML light it would be a tossup between the TK35 and the Lumintop TD-15X. (I haven't tried the Sunwayman).

Thanks for the clarification and explanation on WB settings selfbuilt; makes sense. To be honest, the 'tint' variations between white wall shots on your previous reviews have not been that noticeable - just with this one, some are really green and some are 'white' for the TK35. It ties in with your comments about the green tint and Auto WB has captured it in some exposures and not on others.

It's a shame in a way that the light has a green tint, some may be put off by this. There does seem to be a bit of lottery on the XM-L's.

I have two XM-L lights (Catapult V2 and Lumintop TD15X) and the Thrunite Catapult has one of the best tints I have seen, really nice. The Lumintop however, is very cool, the spill is purplish - I would estimate >7000K. It's not objectional, just not optimum (for my tastes) and interestingly, opposite to your green sample - quite a variation with the XM-L and shows that you cannot guarantee what you recieve.

Great review once again selfbuilt, though i am quite sure that your tk35 is underperforming compared to most tk35. At least mine should be over 850 lumen for sure, when comparing to M31,M30,catapult V2 xm-l,lumintop that you have too included to your test.

Bang on review overall...Love this baby, great 'balance' of beam as you mentioned; which is what I was looking for. Now I have the facts from your review to back it up!

Originally Posted by brightnorm

As a general purpose beam I wouldn't have minded a little more width at the cost of less throw, possible resulting in a shorter light (as long as heat-sinking could remain adequate). Your forthcoming outdoor beam shots will be very helpful. IMO the best general purpose XML beam is achieved by the lumintop TD-15X; of course that is a personal choice.

I do consider the TK35 beam very well balanced, but of course that is a matter of preference. Another beam I quite like is the Olight M31 - exactly because it has such a wide spill and decent throw. But for an SST-50, that comes at the cost of a much bigger head.

And yes, I should have to more to say about it once I do the exterior distance beamshots. Stay tuned ...

Originally Posted by Bass

I have two XM-L lights (Catapult V2 and Lumintop TD15X) and the Thrunite Catapult has one of the best tints I have seen, really nice. The Lumintop however, is very cool, the spill is purplish - I would estimate >7000K. It's not objectional, just not optimum (for my tastes) and interestingly, opposite to your green sample - quite a variation with the XM-L and shows that you cannot guarantee what you recieve.

Exactly, it is usually a question of how much variability occurs in emitter manufacturing (and availability/cost of premium tint bins). I personally much prefer a little green than purple, all things being equal.

Originally Posted by ergotelis

Great review once again selfbuilt, though i am quite sure that your tk35 is underperforming compared to most tk35. At least mine should be over 850 lumen for sure, when comparing to M31,M30,catapult V2 xm-l,lumintop that you have too included to your test.

Could be - that's the problem with n=1 experiments.

I have seen a few commenting that their TK35s were brighter than those other lights, but all my "integrating" devices (i.e. lightbox, ceiling bounce closet, and eyeball) agree that there's not much difference between my samples of various XM-L lights. My Olight M31 is likely something of an over-performer, as it is the only SST-50 light I've seen that matches the XM-L crowd.

I have seen a few commenting that their TK35s were brighter than those other lights, but all my "integrating" devices (i.e. lightbox, ceiling bounce closet, and eyeball) agree that there's not much difference between my samples of various XM-L lights. My Olight M31 is likely something of an over-performer, as it is the only SST-50 light I've seen that matches the XM-L crowd.

exactly.I don't doubt your results but i think this is a possible case here. Otherwise i should be completely wrong with my test methodology of measuring lumen output. M31 delivers to the led 4,3amp a lot more than most sst50 flashlights.

Thanks for the excellent review, selfbuilt. I just ordered my new TK35 today, and I'm told it's shipping now. Can't wait to try it out. I am curious about what sort of tint I'll end up with. I got a 4Sevens mini-AA with the XP-G S2 emitter, and it has a quite green tint, and I'm not a fan...

I'm surprised there isn't more interest in this thread. The TK35 is a pretty unique and excellent light at a bargain price.

Originally Posted by ergotelis

Well i think that this review came a bit late(not blaming anyone of course,the opposite in fact) and most people have already bought this flashlight!

Quite true - I got to this one rather late. But I think there is something off in how the review forum list is reporting page views - both reviews I posted this past weekend are consistently showing posts+1 as the number of views. That seems highly unlikely (i.e. 15 views and 14 posts? I doubt it).

Originally Posted by phonoe

Thank you selfbuilt for the great review again. I thought that the peak throw @1m was around 25,xxx lux or so. Anyway, I am glad that it has a well balanced beam profile for most of the uses.

Keep in mind lux is a non-linear scale that decays according to inverse-square law. So the difference between 25,000lux and 20,150lux is really only 10% less (i.e. the difference of the square-roots, or beam distance), not 20%. My measured values are ~15% less than the Fenix specs (27739 lux @1m, 333m). Considering my sample's output level also seems a little below their specs, that is at least consistent.

My TK35 is more neutral than cool white but in saying that is actually whiter than my TK30 and obviously brighter too. As said above, on the low setting it has a slight green tint but not bad.
Good torch for the price and consistant output.

Ta again Selfbuilt, you are the un-biased benchmark we all look for on here.

Mine is sort of green at low and medium (so is my TK40) but at high and turbo it's bright white, almost cool/purple tint. I like it. I also like the warm/yellow of my TK40 too, it's very natural and similar to R2/WH.

Update: my TK35 turned up, and I'm stoked with it. There is no discernible tint at all, it's a very neutral white - perhaps slightly coolish temp. Yes, there is a very slight rattle from the secondary button actuator, but that's just a design *feature*, as they'd say in IT. And bright...! I got 4 x protected 2600mAh Ultrafire 18650's with it, so they should do the job, 2 in the torch, 2 for backup or in the charger. All in all, win.

Just picked one up myself and enjoyed reading through the review. Spot On with the observations.

Wondered if anyone has measured the current draw on Turbo yet?

I ask because I have 4 sets of 18650's, and only 2 of the four sets are capable of handling this light on Turbo mode. The other sets, which are red-label UltraFires with a 3000mah capacity (not verified, and at this point, not believed) cannot drive the turbo mode on the TK35 for more than 2 minutes without protection kicking in.

In many ways, the TK35 is something of a Goldilocks model. Build-wise, you could argue that most of the other high-output lights are either too long, too thick, too heavy, or too light. The TK35 feels just about right in the hand – nice and compact, and well-balanced.

Same goes for the beam pattern. [. . .]

I think the dual control interface is generally well implemented. [. . .]

[. . .]

Another distinctive feature of the TK35 is the price. [. . .]

[. . .]

At the end of the day, I think the TK35 is a fantastic bargain with a good overall design, good mix of features and outstanding performance. [. . .]

I'm really loving this light for it's well rounded features and price/performance. The above quotes pretty much sum up my feelings.

I've been out of lights for a while so I've not played with anything new for a year or closer to two; except for some nice Zebralights as they keep updating their models.

Just by coincidence the TK35 was mentioned on another forum and it looked so good on paper I had to try it.

As far as I'm concerned I did pretty well in the tint lottery, the tint is certainly a bit different, especially on low output modes, but mine is not overly green. As a person who has mostly switched to Warm/Neutral emitters in my regular use lights I find my tint quite acceptable. Even though the light has output options, I consider the size and weight still put it in the outdoor ranage and that's where I'll be using it, unless I need to celing bounce during a power outage (man it can light a room).

I had to buy this one before reading the reviews and I'm very glad I did.

Really nice to see Selfbuilt still doing just an amazing Job on reviews of the breaking-edge lights. Great to see a lot of old timers, newcomers, and lots of activity on the forums.

While I don't need a new light or two every month anymore, I still really appreciate those in my collection, maybe more.

Never owned a Fenix, the TK35 could change that.~ I'll go out on a limb and say the side-by-side configuration becomes the go-to format
for 2X 18650 lights.
Its small enough to be easily portable, also getting valuable runtime {flat runtime on TK35.}

Bought one and immediately sold my TK40. Size and output is perfect. Kinda wish it came with an OP reflector instead, but other than that the thing is awesome. I also got lucky with the tint lottery. Kind of warm on low, but not much different than the TK40. Very cool white on high/turbo.